I Lived a Second Life
I think it's quite hypocritic to get married in both RL & SL, how some people can claim that they love their spouses and yet spend more time on the game with their SL partner than their RL partner.
How I went about starting my Second Life was pretty much like any other newbie - I sat on camping chairs to earn measly Lindens (currency in Second Life) and I hung out at places where virtual sex was free. I got really into the scene but that life had gotten monotonous and boring about a month later, so I sought a different place to hang out - by that time I already had 3 ongoing relationships with 3 different men online.
They were all from different continents so interruptions & overlaps between either of them were very few - none of them knew about each other either, so at one time I had the luxury of choosing who I wanted to be with.. at the end a man from Britain won me over.
Now, I've had really nice men giving me money to spend and taking me on shopping sprees during that period of time, so it may seem weird that I ended up choosing a man who couldn't afford anything and relied on me instead for money. (in the game)
Thing was, love overruled money, and I enjoyed his company the most - I'd get him shirts with the money I got from the camping chairs and I'd always try to find new places to take him to whenever he came online - SL just wasn't about sex anymore.
We were together for a little over a month living the 'Hobo Life' before he decided to buy some SL money and rent an apartment with me, and I proposed to him twice to marry me in the virtual world, once on my birthday and the other on Valentine's Day. He 'missed' my first proposal because he forgot his email address, and the second time because of his busy schedule, he went missing for 3 whole weeks!
As they all say, 3rd time's a charm, so he proposed to me with a very brief & impromptu message, to which I said 'Yes' - and we didn't have a wedding, it was just a simple transition in our relationship that we quietly celebrated, and it was wonderful.
Anyways, good things never last - we broke up because of his RL career, and I had a tough time coping with the loss - I'd relied on him for money then because he paid for everything that we got together - he paid for the BBQ pit, the beach house rentals, the bed, the loungers - everything, and when he left, I took my pride with me & started to buy my own Lindens to afford the things I always wanted. It was liberating for me to spend my own money and not have anyone to account to!
Now my SL life is more subdued, I've got my own island now with a few close friends, and that is all. I've been on a million shopping sprees and I've spent more than 400 US dollars on the game alone these past 2 months. It's pretty scary. I guess shopping, for me, was a way to fill the void after he left, because he was pretty damn special, and I haven't fallen in love since. We've even met in person too, but it was only that one time. That's another story.
